By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : A prominent Muslim leader of Karnataka and the state president of the Jandal Dal (Secular) Merajuddin Patel was laid to rest in his home town Huchkanhalli (Humnabad) in Karnataka with the state honors.
The former minister Merajuddin Patel, one of the most senior and influential leader from the Hyderabad-Karnataka region died of heart attack on October 7 while he was participating in a party meeting in Gulbarga. He died while undergoing an operation in the hospital.
Thousands of mourners including two former Chief Ministers Dharam Singh and Kumara Swamy, several state ministers, MPs and MLAs and senior government officials attended his funeral. Apart from the members of Muslim community, the farmers were also shocked over his death as he had done a lot of work for their welfare and to solve their problem. He was the first Muslim leader to be elected from Humnabad constituency to the Karnataka assembly. He was elected from the constituency thrice and became a state minister twice.
Merajuddin Patel had suffered a heart attack while giving a statement in Karnataka assembly in 2005.
It was significant that the political leaders of different political parties and the people from different communities mourned the death of the popular leaders and paid tributes to him for his contribution to the development of the region and his efforts to solve the problems of the people.